Ceci Ferrara
December 29, 2014
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
On the last day of the season, the Redskins had a chance to end their disappointing, tumultuous season on a high note. Though it wouldn’t have had any playoff implications, a victory against their most hated rival, the Dallas Cowboys, would have meant a lot to the hometown crowd.
Instead, the Skins, who last week snapped their six-game losing streak to eliminate the Eagles from playoff contention, regressed. They fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter and trailed by 20 at halftime. Robert Griffin III was all over the place. Though he completed for 27-of-41 for one touchdown and a career-high 336 yards, he also threw two picks and lost a fumble that the Cowboys returned for a touchdown.
Knowing his future in Washington hung in the balance, Griffin told reporters afterward that he wants, and hopes, to stay in Washington.
“I want to be here to help this team win, to help turn this thing around and change the culture,” he said. “If coach Jay and the organization wants me to be around, I’ll be ready to go.”
After a scoreless third quarter, the Skins finally got on the board early in the fourth when Griffin ran it in two-yards for a touchdown. That cut the deficit to ten, but that was as close as the Redskins would get. Dallas scored 17 unanswered points en route to their 44-17 blowout victory.
It was the Redskins’ 12th loss of the season and their seventh in the last eight games. At 4-12, they finished last in the division for the sixth time in seven seasons. Once again, they will head into the off-season looking for answers.
One of the biggest questions is whether or not Griffin will be in Washington next year.
Though the quarterback has made it clear he wants to stay, the most important thing for the organization and its fans is to produce a winning team. Whether or not Griffin is, or will be able to become, the leader his team needs remains to be seen. But he did express a desire to improve himself, and his relationship with his teammates, in his last post-game press conference of 2014.
“My job is not to critique myself or to critique anybody, as I’ve learned,” Griffin said. “I will go back and watch the tape and have a laundry list of things I know I want to work on in the off-season and then continue to be the confident player that I know I can be. I know the other guys in that locker room will do the exact same thing.”
Coach Jay Gruden, who called going 4-12 in his first year as a head coach a “humbling experience,” did not comment directly on Griffin’s situation, but he was clear about one thing, there will be many changes before next season.
“We need to change a lot,” Gruden said. “I honestly think if you don’t change something, you’re going to get the same results.”
